I'm new here, and I know that I am in the minority on this forum, but was directed to this forum when looking for answers to open-water swimming. I live in Dallas, TX and for the most part grew up here with the exception of living in St. Croix for four yrs when I was a young teen. I haven't been back since I left and am making it a goal of mine to swim in the Coral Reef Swim they have every year in October. (i wanted to when I was younger but my mom wouldn't let me. ; ). They have a one-mile, two-mile, and a five-mile (that last one is to Buck Island). Though pretty much all of my childhood was spent in the water, whether it be the ocean, lakes, or rivers (my mom was a Scuba instructor), I am not a technical swimmer at all...never taught correct strokes or anything like that. I really would like to train for a 2-mile though, to start...but not sure of the steps I would need to take to do that. Also, my endurance is nothing right now (I said I'm in the minority here, right?) and part of this goal is a goal to get into better shape. I also have mitral valve regurgitation, which is fairly mild but has increased my heart rate and lowered my stamina considerably. I am planning on seeing a cardiologist to hopefully get on meds for that though. Is it unreasonable, knowing all this info, to train for a 2 mile for next year?
I haven't been back since I left and am making it a goal of mine to swim in the Coral Reef Swim they have every year in October. (i wanted to when I was younger but my mom wouldn't let me. ; ). They have a one-mile, two-mile, and a five-mile (that last one is to Buck Island).
I am planning on seeing a cardiologist to hopefully get on meds for that though. Is it unreasonable, knowing all this info, to train for a 2 mile for next year?
In my fifties, after not having swum more than 2000 yards since I was in Jr high, I trained for a 2.25 mile race in about 10 weeks. Most years I train for that race - one year I did not train nearly enough and the wind and weather were ugly, so it was touch and go, but I made it. (2:29:12, with a 2:30 official time to threaten but not enforce cutoff)
Whether you can do it depends on what your cardiologist says. No one here is is likely to second guess that. OTOH, there are plenty here with cardiac issues who manage to train, swim, and race.
If your cardiologist is not familiar with swimming, an estimate is that 2 miles swimming is equivalent to 8 miles running.
I did a masters thesis on statistics of cardiac parameters. A sentence from the literature(I forget the cite) is "Sedentary men in their 40's who begin an exercise program show measurable cardiac changes in as little as six weeks." Basically, if you need to change your cardiac parameters with exercise to do this race, 6 weeks is the tiniest increment of change. You'll likely need a few of those increments.
A few session with a coach could help a bunch too.
I haven't been back since I left and am making it a goal of mine to swim in the Coral Reef Swim they have every year in October. (i wanted to when I was younger but my mom wouldn't let me. ; ). They have a one-mile, two-mile, and a five-mile (that last one is to Buck Island).
I am planning on seeing a cardiologist to hopefully get on meds for that though. Is it unreasonable, knowing all this info, to train for a 2 mile for next year?
In my fifties, after not having swum more than 2000 yards since I was in Jr high, I trained for a 2.25 mile race in about 10 weeks. Most years I train for that race - one year I did not train nearly enough and the wind and weather were ugly, so it was touch and go, but I made it. (2:29:12, with a 2:30 official time to threaten but not enforce cutoff)
Whether you can do it depends on what your cardiologist says. No one here is is likely to second guess that. OTOH, there are plenty here with cardiac issues who manage to train, swim, and race.
If your cardiologist is not familiar with swimming, an estimate is that 2 miles swimming is equivalent to 8 miles running.
I did a masters thesis on statistics of cardiac parameters. A sentence from the literature(I forget the cite) is "Sedentary men in their 40's who begin an exercise program show measurable cardiac changes in as little as six weeks." Basically, if you need to change your cardiac parameters with exercise to do this race, 6 weeks is the tiniest increment of change. You'll likely need a few of those increments.
A few session with a coach could help a bunch too.
